Conte's winning ways deepen Gerrard pain
Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard (right) and Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte on the touchline during the Premier League match at Villa Park, Birmingham. Picture Nick Potts/PA Wire.
SINCE RETURNING to the Premier League last November, Antonio Conte and Steven Gerrard have had a stark contrast in fortunes at their clubs, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa respectively.
Conte has taken Tottenham into the top four and within sight of a return to Champions League football, bringing the best out of an inconsistent group of players and instilling a winning mentality.
But for a blip in February when Spurs lost three times in a fortnight to Southampton, Wolves and Burnley, they could be comfortably in third place. No wonder Tottenham supporters sing his praises, with chants of “Antonio, Antonio” ringing round Villa Park after a hat-trick from Heung Min Son and another goal from Dejan Kulusevski completed a classic smash and grab job over the Villains.
Spurs scored early, soaked up everything Villa threw at them for the remainder of the first half, and then hit them with three sucker punches after the break. For Gerrard it was, by his own admission, painful to watch. “Their world-class players destroyed us in the second half – there's your headline,” he lamented.
While Conte was winning Serie A with Inter last season, Gerrard was leading Rangers to the Scottish Premiership, but the former Liverpool hero is finding life much tougher down south.
His predecessor Dean Smith was sacked after five straight defeats, and Villa have now lost four in a row and have a tricky run-in with Leicester, Liverpool and Manchester City to come.
While Conte has overseen 14 wins in his 22 league games, Gerrard has managed just eight victories in the same period, and Villa are still much closer to the bottom three than the top four. He admits there is much food for thought.
“We know the reality. There's a gap to the teams above us - certainly to the top six. From a defensive point of view it was painful to watch. It's not good enough - individually or collectively. The same mistakes keep rearing their heads. Without naming names, we've got a lot to learn.”
Gerrard hinted that he will look to make changes in the summer, certainly in defensive positions. Spurs opened them up with clinical efficiency as Harry Kane, Son and Kulusevski showed the sort of attacking prowess that has made Spurs the league's top scorers in 2022, with 34 goals in the past 14 games. Their goal difference is superior to their rivals for a top four finish, which could yet prove decisive.
Son took the plaudits for his hat-trick, but the modest Korean was quick to praise his captain Hugo Lloris, who made important saves to deny Matty Cash, John McGinn, Ollie Watkins, Jacob Ramsey and Philippe Coutinho as Villa enjoyed a purple patch before half-time. “He saved us today,” said Son.
“If Hugo was not there it could have been 3-1 or 4-1 by half-time. When we needed him, at a difficult time, he was turning like a superman, like a cat!”
The Korean has emphasised the team spirit at Tottenham. “We are not selfish, we play for each other. It is so good to watch and so enjoyable to play.”
Son has scored eight goals in his past seven games, taking his total to 22 for club and country, while Kane has hit 33. The England captain did not score again, but created one goal for Son and one for Kulusevski, who in turn assisted the Korean's hat-trick goal.
“Scoring goals makes me happy, but I am just grateful for every single player, not just in the team but those not playing. They support me, give me confidence with their beautiful words and attitudes.”
Son knows Spurs can still improve, adding: “I don't want to get 'over the moon', I want to remain cool and calm because there are still a lot of games to come and I know we can do better. Today we can be happy, but there is another game next weekend.”
Conte echoed the sentiment ahead of the visit of Brighton, who won at Arsenal. “To win here but then not to win next Saturday would cancel the positives a bit. We will rest for one day then our focus has to be for the next game.”
Martinez 5; Cash 6, Konsa 5, Mings 5, Digne 6 (Young 80); McGinn 6, Luiz 5, Ramsey 6; Coutinho 6 (Buendia 70); Ings 4 (Bailey 70), Watkins 5
Lloris 9; Romero 8, Dier 7, Davies 7; Emerson 7, Hjobjerg 8, Bentancur 8, Doherty 6 (Reguilon 20); Kulusevski 8 (Bergwijn 84), Kane 8, Son 9.
Graham Scott 6/10
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